How Much Will Algonquin's Pool Cost Taxpayers This Year?

Operating and maintaining a community pool can be a costly business.

And when a city-run pool does not make any money, or even break even, in a given year, taxpayers are left to foot the bill, the Daily Herald reports.

So, what is that expected to mean for Algonquin taxpayers this year?

A Daily Herald investigation found pools in Palatine are expected to lose over $144,000 this year. The city figures it will need $263,700 to operate its pools and plans to bring in $119,000 in revenue, according to the Daily Herald. Algonquin runs Lions Armstrong Memorial Pool.

Algonquin is among six suburban park districts expected to lose six figures this year on its pools, according to the newspaper.

Maintenance costs, the weather and a “glut of entertainment options” when it comes to pools and aquatic centers in the suburbs has lead to increased operational costs and lower revenue, the Daily Herald investigation found.

“I think there’s a degree of the community that does go elsewhere because it has a little more to offer,” Wood Dale Park District Executive Director Matthew Ellmann toldthe Daily Herald. “Society as a whole, people want the more, the new, the next greatest thing. At some point we’ll have to address that.”

Take a look at what other communities throughout the suburbs are expected to spend on their pool operations this year on the Daily Herald website.